Friday, April 13, 2012

Friday, April 6, 2012

“O Lord God of Heaven, the great and awesome God Who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant that I now pray before You day and night for the people of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against You. Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments and the statutes that You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make My Name dwell there.’ They are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who delight to fear Your name, and give success to Your servant today, and grant him mercy.” (Nehemiah 1:5-11)

“O Lord, the great and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and
steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have
sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from Your
commandments and laws. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who
spoke in Your Name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the
people of the land. To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open
shame, as at this day, those who are near and those who are far away, in all
the lands to which You have driven them, because of the treachery that they
have committed against You. To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to
our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the
Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him and
have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in His laws, which He
set before us by His servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed Your
law and turned aside, refusing to obey Your voice. And the curse and oath that
are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon
us, because we have sinned against Him. He has confirmed His words, which He spoke
against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great
calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what
has been done against the covenant people. As it is written in the Law of
Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor
of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your
truth. Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon
us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that He has done, and we
have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out
of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a Name for yourself, as
at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all Your righteous acts, let Your anger
and Your wrath turn away from Your city, Your holy hill, because for our sins,
and for the iniquities of our fathers, Your people have become a byword of
shame among all who are around us. Now therefore, O God, listen to the prayer
of Your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for Your own sake, O Lord, make
Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline
your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is
called by Your name. For we do not present our pleas before You because of our
righteousness, but because of Your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive.
O Lord, pay heed and act. Delay not, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your
city and your people are called by Your name.” (Daniel 9:4-19)